Mike Conley is a stone-cold killer with a nice-guy facade

When Mike Conley sized up Tony Parker in the closing seconds of regulation in Game 4, Parker must have felt he was back in the club during the Drake and Chris Brown beef. You could tell because he resorted to doing what all scared defenders usually do: he tried to use his hand to obscure Conley’s vision.

His fear was reasonable.

With the game and the Grizzlies’ survival on the line, Conley pulled Parker to the right. As the Frenchman was sliding like Bambi on ice, Conley turned back inside to the left and drove to the rim. Then, he shot his gorgeous off-hand floater, which looks so natural that it’s hard to think his left-handedness isn’t a long con.

When the shot dropped, Conley didn’t celebrate his game-tying basket, nor did he taunt Parker. There was nothing cold or menacing about his reaction. He just stood there, looking around and being very small in the moment, as if it was someone else who saved the game.

It wasn’t the response that’s expected, but it was so Mike Conley. He’s relentlessly nice.

After Marc Gasol hit a game-winner in overtime to tie the series at 2-2, he invited Conley to stand with him during the post-game press conference. At the end of an interview where Conley barely said anything, the reporter made a “take that for data” joke. Conley’s response was to smile sheepishly.

In his famous “take that for data” rant, Grizzlies coach David Fizdale questioned why Conley doesn’t get the same calls as Kawhi Leonard and other stars. He suggested Conley is classy and not as demonstrative as others, though using Leonard to make that point was ironic.

When asked if he agreed that referees are being fair to him, Conley said: “As far as getting to the free-throw line? No. But they respect me as a person, I feel like. But when it comes to the game, I’m not sure.”

Conley is stoic, but not in the same way as Leonard. Where Leonard would look unimpressed as a meteor crashes and destroys the world, Conley would be too shy to say anything about the world’s impending doom. Leonard could never go after referees and ask for respect because he doesn’t really care. Conley, on the other hand, needs someone like Fizdale to do it on his behalf. Conley agrees he’s getting hosed by officials, but is too nice to make bold statements about it.

So Fizdale had to do what Conley couldn’t, which allowed Conley to do what he does best. Conley may look meek, but he’s a dominant figure when he plays.

In Game 4, he came up against an equally determined Leonard, who was not in the mood to allow the Grizzlies to come back into the series. The MVP candidate played one of the best individual games of his career in the hopes that the Spurs could put an end to this series. Yet Conley and the Grizzlies refused. They would not go away. When Leonard raised his game, so did his counterpart.

Both of them had career playoff highs in points: Leonard with 43, Conley with 35. Conley had an additional nine rebounds and eight assists. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone when the Grizzlies were blowing their 10-point lead. Leonard scored the Spurs last 16 points in regulation, but for everything Leonard did, Conley had a response.

Both players are known for their defense, which fits their personalities appropriately They do the unglamorous jobs that go unseen. They don’t complain and they dutifully carry out whatever is best for the team.

But both are in situations where they need to come to the forefront more than ever. They have been tasked with taking more of an offensive burden as their surrounding infrastructure ages. Both have been asked to take their games up to new levels. And both have.

Everyone accepts Leonard’s superstar status, but Conley has flown under the radar. He’s good, but he’s never been an all-star. He’s accepted as being terrific, but in the sense that he does what he does well. Even as his offensive numbers have risen this year, he’s absent from the discussion of the league’s best point guards.

He shouldn’t be anymore. When asked to match an incredible performance by one of the best players in the NBA, he’s eagerly accepted and succeeded. When faced with the task of leading a No. 7 seed against the second-best team in the NBA, Conley, like his coach, has refused to let their opponents rook them.

Still, he can’t help but do this glorious thing in the most Mike Conley way possible. After hitting a three-pointer while being fouled in the second quarter, he walked toward the crowd and almost lost himself to celebration. Instead, he smiled and pulled both hands down, as if he was reminding himself to stay mellow.

Even at his best, he can’t help but be nice and quiet.